End of the Beginning
by TheEmoStranger
Summary: There was once a time when all four dimensions were one. Destruction ravaged the original world but also brought upon the creation of those dimensions. A story of two fated individuals that caused the end of the beginning of the old world.


_Destruction yields creation. The wheel of fortune spins as the pendulum sway to one extreme to the next. And the world descends into the fiery prominence, only to arise glorified, a new creation from the ashes of destruction._

The sound of footsteps echoed throughout the empty spiral staircase. Heavy breathing escaped the young woman's lips as she climbed the barren tower. Electricity pulsed through her broken duel disk with her deck intact from the damage she suffered not too long ago. Soot and grime marred all over her body, with a scent of burnt charcoal that clung to her clothes from the neverending blazing fire around the area. Her long pigtails slowly becoming undone from the chaos, but she paid no attention to them. Her mind focused on reaching the end of the stairs and finally confront a person she once knew. For one last time...

 _How did all of this happen_? She sadly wondered.

A series of disastrous events befell into her once peaceful world, turning it into utter chaos. Events that became so cataclysmic that one could hardly imagine them to be pieces of a devastating end. But even in the travail of sorrow and despair that laid waste to her world, the pieces began to fit in place. Although she might once have dismissed these events of conflict as mere coincidence, she was now caught by destiny and began to see the pieces merge to reveal a picture of her own fate.…

At the end of the stairs, the woman looked around at a room that illuminated in an orange glow by the burning fire outside of the tower. Fallen debris of broken pillars and shattered glass strewn about the floor. Puddles of dark fluid stained the ground as it seeped through the cracks. The smell of rust and smoke reeked the air, just enough to make her stomach churn. It was until she spotted a silhouette of a person on her left which caused her legs to go numb.

A young man with short spiked-up hair, clothes caked in blood and a duel disk equipped on his right arm, stood near the edge of the windowless room. He stared out at the crimson sky as dark clouds of thunder crashed down into the bleak city. Setting ablaze to new flames that scorched the land, which produced more gray fumes into the atmosphere. A calm expression etched his face while he observed the desolate view.

"So I see you have finally come back." He turned to face the woman. His lips curled into an upturned smile. Her heart sank once she saw the deep crimson eyes piercing through her entire being. "I've been waiting for you, Ray."

The duelist that Ray saw before her was a demon of destruction. A fearsome duelist, a childhood friend, a once kind-hearted boy, and the source of the world's demise.

A man who was once a lonely boy isolated from the eyes of society. A presence so odd and unique, one could say that it was that of a dragon, living in a world filled with humans. However, Ray was unaware that the influences of the world they lived in had slowly corrupted the duelist into what many would perceive him as, "The Supreme Dragon King."

"Zarc…" Her eyes narrowed to him. She squeezed her fist until her knuckles turned white.

"How do you like this place? I made it especially for you."

Suddenly a darting pain shot through her skull as she winced, while the man calmly approached to her. Ray clutched her hand over one of her eyes as she tried to resist the pulsating pain.

In her mind, a flickering image of a purple and magenta-haired boy, wearing a red cape over a violet uniform, walked toward Ray in a blue marbled hallway that she never seen before. The boy's haunting smile sent shivers down to her spine.

 _Who was that boy,_ Ray thought? She tried to recall anyone she knew who had that face but none of them matched. Only the man in the same room as her had the striking resemblance to the boy.

Ray's vision focused back into reality for she could see the man clearly in front of her.

Zarc didn't wait for her response as he wrapped his arms around her neck. He leaned in to embrace her, but Ray flinched and pushed the duelist against his chest while she backsteps away from him. A grunt emitted from the young man, who was quite displeased with her action.

Ray's fingers lightly brushed over the leg pouch on her left thigh. Her eyes widen as she suddenly recalled a memory. Inside her pouch contained five items that Ray could use to stop Zarc and his destructive rampage. However, it came with a price. Ray just hoped that she didn't have to resort on using her second option if the first one did not work.

Ray slowly walked backward until she felt her back against the fallen pillars. She remained on her spot, still intent on ending the whole conflict while Ray watched Zarc stride his way to her.

"Why did you do that? That was quite mean of you." He scratched the back of his neck.

"Don't act dumb with me! How can you be so calm when all of this is happening? The world shouldn't be like this!" Ray gestured her arm around the place to prove her point.

"Those people doesn't have any values to me. All I care about is you, so isn't it better if everyone were wiped out of this planet?" A thin smile played on his lips.

A warm heat rose up in her chest as Ray raised her right hand to slap him. She couldn't believe that Zarc was heartless to say those words. It was selfish to have the population wiped out just for her. Ray didn't meant for this to happen. However, Zarc snatched her wrist in a tight grip right before she swung her arm.

She struggled to pry his hand off her and instantly reach for her pouch. But Zarc quickly noticed it and suddenly twist her arm behind her back which caused her to gasp in pain. His hand snaked down her leg to the pouch. Sweat seeped from Ray's face as he opened the compartment. Her heartbeat quickened and then she tried to pry his hand away from the items.

"Hmm? What are these.. bracelets? Never took you for a person to wear jewelry." Zarc inspected the four metallic bracelets on his hand as he tilted them in different angles. Each bracelet has a different design and gem that glinted in a pink, blue, green, and yellow color. "I don't see the reason why you would need them."

Zarc threw the bracelets nonchalantly behind him as they all clinked on the floor. Then he released his grip on her wrist, but unfortunately for him, Ray's struggle caused her to tumble down to the ground as a result. He then kneeled down to the floor and extended his hand out to her. But Ray turned her head away from him as her bangs covered her face.

"Why me... Out of the billion people in the world, why did you chose me? I'm not that special... I'm just a regular duelist living an average life." Ray confoundedly gazed at Zarc with her brows scrunched up.

She could hardly believe that Zarc changed so much. To the point where Ray could not recognize Zarc anymore.

"Because I wanted to be by your side... You acknowledged my existence, while everyone else chose not to, and took me in as part of your life. Even if I was a pebble to you, you would've still taken care of me regardless of the circumstance. And for that, I'm very thankful." Zarc's eye soften as he took both of her hands and grasped them gently together. "They tried to separate us and I was afraid that you would leave me one day… You mean everything to me."

Another image of a boy appeared in her vision. However, he had purple and black hair wearing a dark blue and tan jacket over a black shirt. He held a gentle smile while slightly looking down to her hand, sitting on a bench in a grassy park.

"But now that everyone is taken care of... It's just the two of us, together at last." Zarc's voice snapped Ray out of her vision. "Let's go home. It's been a long day for the both of us."

He stood and lifted Ray up to her feet. Zarc patted the dirt away on her clothes and rubbed the soot off her cheek. Ray hesitantly glanced away from his eye contact; her jaws clenched tightly together.

Zarc then turned around and gently held her right hand as he guided them to the staircase. While she reluctantly walked behind him, Ray took out a light blue pendant with gray wings from the bottom of her pouch. She looked down at it.

The item on her hand would trap Zarc's soul in the pendant when he wears it. Once his soul is trapped, she will no longer see him again. Her heart ached just thinking about it. As much as it pained Ray, she had to end Zarc.

Ray gripped the pendulum tight in her fist. Then she lunged behind Zarc, with the pendant at hand, and set the gray chain over his head as it swung onto his neck.

He jolted from the weight of Ray's body pressed against him and turned to swing her off his back.

By the time he looked at her, she had already leaped off from him.

The pendant lit up in a radiant blue light as Zarc clenched his chest. His eyes shut tight while Zarc writhed in pain when he dropped down to the ground, sweat started to form on his face.

"What's the meaning of this?! Urgh!"

"This is not the world that I desired. There would be no meaning in this planet if everyone in the world disappeared!"

A dark aura surrounded Zarc as part of it entered into the pendant. He cried out in agony as his soul was being torn into fragments. Then a menacing burst of light blue flames momentarily erupts from him. The shock wave from the burst staggered her backward. To her dismay, Zarc was able to break free from the pendant's effect before it fully consumed him.

Zarc grunted at Ray for placing the pendant on him in order to seal him away. And remarked on how Ray hasn't changed. His face scrunched up with extreme annoyance as he turned his face away from her.

A third image appeared with a yellow and blue haired boy, wearing a white jumpsuit bordered in red, blue, and yellow, in a gray garage. A sleek motorcycle stationed behind the boy, his head faced away from her while making a slight angry pout on his lips.

Ray took the chance to grab Zarc's shoulders and kneed him in the stomach. Causing Zarc to do a double take. Then Ray turned her back to him as she ran.

"You can't run from me, Ray!" Zarc gripped the side of his abdomen.

She turned around to make a break from the building. However, Ray stopped in her tracks when she gaped in shock at the large dichromatic eyes staring back at her from outside the windowless frame.

The dark dragon clung onto the building, revealing its sharp teeth to the poor woman. Its wings flapped out to the sky and the long spike-tipped tail slithered around the polluted air. Dark scales glowed from the illuminated flames below.

It emanated a raging cry as the dragon raised one of its claw to the red sky. Ray didn't have time to scream as a massive claw plummeted down to the ceiling. The scaly beast tried to grab Ray within the narrow space.

A shroud of dust engulfed the room. Pieces of metals and slabs of plaster protrude from the former ceiling. Parts of the rubble collapsed to the floor, shaking in its wake. After a few minutes of shaking the tremor stopped, filling the exposed area in silence.

A small pile of plaster started to crumble as Ray emerged from it. Ray coughed out the dust in her lungs as she used her hand to fan out the dirt and ashes floating in the air. Squinting her eyes, Ray could not see Zarc anywhere within the debris; much to her relief. But just as she lifted her torso up and crawl out, Ray noticed that she could no longer feel her legs. She looked back to see a huge metal rod pierced through one of her leg as blood seeped from her skin. Blocks of rubble heavily stacked below her waist.

"Please don't make this harder on yourself..." Ray's face paled upon hearing his voice. "I would rather not drag you by force if I have to."

Zarc came out from behind the fallen ceiling as he made his way to her, unaware of her dire predicament.

Zarc was unstable, and Ray should have known. She could no longer reach out to Zarc's heart. If she had gone back in time from the day she met him, would she done something different and prevented this catastrophe? Would everything return back to the moment where the world didn't fell into chaos?

However, wishing for those peaceful days in her world were over. And she had witnessed the fall of her home and the ruin of the person she cherished the most. No matter how many times she denied the presumption of destruction, she had no one else to blame but herself for not realizing it sooner. The only option that Ray can do is to activate the four bracelets. Even if it meant ending her life by splitting her soul into four. So she must bear the consequence of her action. All of it.

"Standard, Fusion, Syncro, and Xyz!" Ray cried out with all her might.

"Wha-"

The words she shouted caused the pink, blue, green, and yellow bracelets, that were scattered on the floor, glowed. The pendant on Zarc's neck also lit up but this time with more intensity. Then it flashed into a blinding light, the pendant's radiant shine blanketed the entire burning city.

Fire and ashes suddenly dissolved into thin air. The smoggy crimson sky transfigured into a clear starry universe. Several hues of blue inked the dark space in a cloud of gas along with other luminous matter.

Zarc's dragon roared in agonizing pain as it dispersed into golden particles, along with the four bracelets on the ground. The buildings and debris around them started to steadily dematerialize in a pale blue speck of light.

On the floor, Ray clenched her chest as she felt her heart tightened in excruciating pain. She felt the effect of the bracelets and then suddenly coughed out blood from her mouth. The metallic taste coated her throat. Ray flipped herself onto her back and thought back about the three boys that appeared in her mind's eye. She wondered if they were the reincarnations of Zarc of a different world; all of them having the same face as him.

"I never knew the stars was this beautiful..."Ray said to herself as she looked up to the night sky.

Zarc hurriedly ran to her side and pulled her up to his chest. Cupping his hand to the side of her face.

"Why, Ray? What is it that I did wrong that made you like this?" Zarc looked into her eyes, searching for the answers within them. "Do you hate me that much?"

"I-I could never hate you, Zarc. M-My feelings for you haven't changed ever since I first met you... e-even now," Ray spoke softly to Zarc as she gently placed her hand on his cheek. "And I-I'm sorry that it has to end this way…" Unaware of the hot tears that welled up in her eyes.

Her body became translucent from the lower half of her torso and slowly crept up to engulf her entire body. A cluster of small star particles sparkled to form a soft pink glow around her.

"Ray!" He called out to her frantically. "Ray!"

She couldn't hear the words Zarc yelled out. Only the white noise hummed inside her ears. His face then became replaced by yet another boy.

This time with green and red hair donning a pair of goggles on his head. He wore a white jacket, accented in red and gold, as a cape over a coral shirt. A pendant hung around his neck, similar to the one that she placed on Zarc. The boy had a worried expression as he mouthed out soundless words in which Ray would assume was a name. Behind the boy was a clear blue sky. It was so blue, Ray wished that she could gaze upon it once more with Zarc laying beside her on the green grass. But sadly, that moment can't last forever...

"Goodbye, Zarc…" she said softly as tears fell from her face.

Her body burst into pink stardusts, floating into the endless cosmos above.

Zarc hands shook violently and clutched the space where Ray used to be. A sad raging cry escaped his lips, lamenting the loss of his most important person.

Everything around him steadily disintegrated in shimmering particles of stardust. Blue speckles of light immersed on him as he looked up at the starry nebula. Zarc slowly closed his eyes as he faded away with the remnant of the dying world and into the vast universe.

Particles of the former world gathered together over time in space. The four dimensions were created from it and the bracelets resided in them along with the scattered soul of the two duelists. Worlds where there were no events of conflict and calamity under the peaceful blue skies...

 _But soon, the silver string of fate will swing back into motion and the pendulum of ruins, that glide across the delicate sands of time, would once again converge back to the beginning of the end… when the first arc was created to form the rebirth of a new destruction._

* * *

 ** _Author's Note: To anyone who might not know, Zarc and Ray are the characters who's connected with Yuya and Yuzu, including their dimensional counterparts, respectively._**

 ** _I wrote this a week before episode 126 was aired so I don't know how I feel about it now._**

 ** _I don't have much to say on this section, so thank you for your time to read my one-shot. I hoped all of you enjoyed it._**


End file.
